I read this book years ago when the ARC was provided but wasn’t an avid NetGalley user then and never reviewed this. I appreciate NetGalley having provided me with an ARC! Did not like the heroine or love interest so much that I almost DNF’ed the book. But I had to push myself to finish it. Storyline was lacking too.

I was pretty excited to read this book. That synopsis went from 0 to 60 in zero seconds flat, and then it dialed things back down, and I just wanted to know what the heck was going on! And yeah, it was such a fantastic mystery!

One complaint that I have, which, reading other reviews, says I'm not alone in, is the fact hat Scarlet can't remember anything before age 4. Almost nobody can, that's not something shocking. I can barely remember what happened last week. If it had been age 8, that would've been a bit more believable.

The past that she can't remember and that is a threat to her now, is of a cult, and the fact that she was supposed to be a sacrifice. So that's a pretty terrifying situation, and it makes sense with the white dress, because cults and sacrifice makes me think ritual.

I enjoyed her and Noah, it was a pretty insta-lovey, and the whole truth behind their meeting was about the ultimate you can get for sketchy. They were a really enjoyable couple to read about, and I enjoyed their romance!

Really enjoyed reading this book, and I really need to read more of Natasha Preston's books!

This was a rough start for me but it picked up and turned itself around to an enjoyable read! The characters connect great and the plot turned out great!

2.5 Stars

Awake by Natasha Preston has an interesting premise but the execution is questionable. Not much is explained, which I think might be to keep that aura of mystery, but it just leaves the reader confused and wanting to throw the book at the wall. The writing seemed a little immature and simple. I generally love cult books but this one didn't hit the mark for me! Also, why is it emphasized so much that the main character doesn't remember anything before the age of 4? I don't either!

Natasha Preston once again crafts a thrilling story with characters and trauma that stands out from the page.

There were elements of this book that should have made it work. A teenage girl's forgotten past, a brainwashed cult, and the danger that results in those colliding with what she believes to be her reality. Unfortunately, the surrounding factors were so poorly executed that it affected the entire book.

Scarlett is somewhere between 14 and 16 (there seems to be some confusion here that should have been picked up during the editing process) and has no memories of her life before the age of four. This is one of the first main issues since it would be pretty rare for someone to actually remember things from that time in their life. The second issue comes crashing in immediately, in the form of Noah. He's the new guy at school, and while I can understand the rush of hormones that make teenagers feel as though they have fallen in love, this was just too fast, too hard, and far too creepy. Noah's need for Scarlett to remember her past didn't have the ring of sincerity and concern that it should have in order to prevent warning bells going off in her head.

Just before the halfway mark, things pick up a little when we realize what the secret of Scarlett's past is, but even this isn't enough to push it over that mediocre line. Maybe if the way Scarlett had been pulled back into her actual life had happened in a more believable manner, or maybe if there had been more showing and less telling, or maybe if the reader gave it a second chance like I did and found it somehow became a little more palatable during the repeat read.

I realize that's too many maybes, and the last one is pretty unlikely, so I'm having to leave this one at three stars. After my initial read, it probably would have been lower, but I must have been more patient and forgiving the next time because I didn't dislike it quite so much. I'll average my ratings and ask that this book not be used against author Natasha Preston. She does have some good ones out there. Here's a maybe that can be easily followed through on ... Maybe give The Cellar a try instead.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Awake was very similar to The Dark Light, in all the worst ways. Featuring a girl who is kidnapped and taken to a cult to be the sacrifice which will allow all of the other members to go to Heaven – the same cult she was stolen from to save her life when she was a child – it looks like September was the month for me to read awful books about unhinged religious communities.

I had so many problems with Awake that I can’t even be bothered to write a proper review, so here are some bullet points:


the two perspectives are written identically, and it’s impossible to tell whether you’re reading from Scarlett or Noah’s viewpoint if you take a break halfway through a chapter
how old is Scarlett? She’s been missing her memories for a decade, but she’s only forgotten everything before her 4th birthday, so she should be 14… But she’s referred to as both 15 and 16 as well. Huh???
why didn’t Scarlett’s parents change their names when they escaped from the Eternal Light in the first place? It can’t be that hard to find two people called Jonathan and Marissa with their children, Scarlett and Jeremy. They’ve been moving around the country to escape the Eternal Light, so why the hell didn’t they change their names at least once?!
who can actually remember anything before they were 4? I sure as hell can’t. Does that mean I was supposed to be a sacrifice for a cult and my parents aren’t actually my parents? The premise is just so painfully flimsy
UGH THE INSTALOVE
I mean it’s awful
HONESTLY SO BAD
Noah is new to the school and UTTERLY CREEPY and Scarlett falls head over heels in love with him, tells him her tragic backstory within a couple of hours of knowing him, starts fantasizing about what it’ll be like when they’re married and living together, all within the first couple of weeks of knowing him. Cringe.
the writing is horrible. I can’t remember reading such a bland, boring book before. The main character is about to get sacrificed and I’m here yawning and just wanting it to be over. It’s impossible to emotionally connect to anything that’s going on. It’s also far too long – the events in the last half of the novel could have been far more interesting if they’d been compressed to 25%, and then the lead up to the kidnapping could have been properly fleshed out so that it was possible to care about the characters
To summarise: 1 star read and a strong contender for worst book I’ve read this year (which is impressive because I have read some corkers in 2020!).

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.

Good twists. A nice change of pace from so many post-apocalyptic tropes, and way too much fantasy for this reader. This sets up YA readers to be Grisham, Brown, Patterson, and Turrow fans.

I wasn't able to get into this book at all. I gave it 100 pages before giving up. I couldn't connect with the characters at all. Rating is based on the portion I did read.

This book started out really slow to me and there was t anything to grab me and pull me in. I appreciate that it was a free read but I couldn’t finish it at all. The characters were not believeable and it loveable. It did nothing for me at all. I’m not saying I won’t read another by this author but I didn’t enjoy this one. Tnanks for the opportunity to read and review this one. But it had no wow factor at all.

I didn't like the way this novel was written. I had a hard time following what what happening, and I felt like some things happened way too fast.

I had big expectations for this one but it turned out to be a dud. The writing felt immature and rough, the scenes, dialogues and actions felt very cliche and the characterization was a big let down.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but I was not able to review this title. Once I began reading AWAKE, the story turned out to be something that I could not get into unfortunately. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I really do appreciate it.

Not a fantastic read, but not a terrible one either, this was sort of middle of the road. Everything happened very quickly in terms of the romantic relationship, very slowly in terms of everything else, and I'm not sure that Scarlett and Imogen understand what 'friends' means. I know that some friends express their friendship by making fun of each other, but these girls were *mean*. And, Scarlett, it's perfectly normal not to remember anything from before the age of four. I don't remember much from before the age of six or seven.

However, it's a good way to pass some time, and I did finish it.

I was intrigued by this one when I read the blurb. After I started reading though, I just couldn't seem to finish this one.

Scarlett and Noah had an instant love and that just threw me since Noah was a new guy at the school and no one really knew anything about him. Noah was so different than the other boys his age that we read about, it was almost scary.

Then there was the cult that came in to play later in the book, just not my thing. I would tell readers to give this one a chance because it may be for you, but it just was not for me. Sorry.

I have such a hard time writing a review where I didn't finish the book because I want so bad to love all the books I pick up, but this one just wasn't my type.

I set my mind back to when I was a teenager so that I could still remember the rush of so called love we feel at that age, so powerful, I don't remember instant love though, "cor look at him" type of thing, but not instantly a couple that in a week are planning their future. OK maybe its the cynic in me coming out.

The thing is, do you remember anything before the age of four? Well this girl did, right back to babyhood, anyway, I over looked that too.

Noah her boyfriend is so insistent for her to remember way back when. I found it remarkable but interesting at the same time.

We have a cult, human sacrifice and kidnapping. Not a great combination but a good one for a story I guess.

Scarlett's and Noahs relationship did not come across to me as loving at all, but really creepy and sinister.

I felt quite uncomfortable reading this book and I am not a YA.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Fire via Net Galley for me copy

Amnesia, a new start, and a secret that threatens to destroy lives. What would you do if the life you knew wasn't really the one you were destined to live? How would you react if you remembered incidents that people rather wished you hadn't?

Don't miss this thrilling story.

To start off I would like to say that this book was a great read and that the story itself was interesting. Awake is a YA thriller and the first book I have read by Natasha Preston.I was really excited to read this book but it didn’t really match what I thought it would have been.The story is set in England, but answers to Scarlett’s background are found in Ireland.
the great thing about this story is that it was very easy to read, and it had enough mystery to it that it kept my attention, but I feel like it lacked depth and was too basic is some way. This book could use a bit more in depth conversation, action and excitement. Overall the storyline was decent.
The epilogue at the end of the book does leave hints that there might be another book in the making, but I don’t know for sure. I would recommend this to anyone who likes YA mystery/thriller.

I must say, I haven't read very many thrillers in my life, but by no means does that make me any less willing to say this was a good one. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I'm pretty sure Natasha Preston owes me a manicure because I definitely have no nails left! A fantastic and unique story.